One-way-travel barrier



Sept. 1I, 1956 o. w. RUPE 2,762,145 ONE-WAY-TRAVEL BARRIER Filed April27, 1953 INVENTOR. @iV/Lf /fK Pz/Pf BY M( ONE-WAY-TRAVEL BARRIER OrvilleW. Rupe, Sterling, Colo. Application April 27, 1953, Serial No. 351,133

Claims. (Cl. 39-5) This invention relates to what might be termed aoneway-travel barrier for automotive vehicles. It is more particularlydesigned to be used as an exit gate for outdoor drive-in theaters andthe like. Considerable didiculty has been experienced in preventingunauthorized cars from entering outdoor theaters through the exit gatesthereof. it is diflicult for the attendants at the main gate to watchthe exit gates, and extra attendants must necessarily be retained forthis purpose.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a vehicle exit gatewhich will not interfere in any way with cars leaving the theater, butwhich will prevent cars from entering the theater through the exitgates.

Another object of the invention is to provide a oneway-travel gate, theoperation of which cannot be interfered with by unauthorized personneland which will allow cars to pass in the proper direction at any speedwithout damage to the gate or car.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail description of theinvention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and eiiiciency.These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is hadto the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numeralsrefer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout thedescription.

in the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of the improved one-way-travel gate looking in theprohibited travel direction;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-section therethrough, taken on the line 2-2,Fig. 1, illustrating, in broken line at 12, the position of the frontwheels of the car attempting to make entry in the prohibited direction;

Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view, illustrating, in broken line at 13,the position of the wheels of a car traveling in the authorizeddirection; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail, perspective view,illustrating elements of the improved gate.

The improved gate is designed to be installed in line with an enclosingfence and in a trench excavated tranversely of a roadway leading throughthe fence. The top of the gate structure is ush with the surface of theroadway, indicated in broken line at 11.

The improved gate comprises an elongated rectangular, open frame 14formed from 2 by 4 timbers or other equivalent frame members. Aplurality of spacedapart beams 15 extend lengthwise of the frame 14. Oneof these beams indicated at 19 is spaced from one side of the frame 14suiliciently far to form an open swingway 16 which is partially closedat its top by a metal pipe 17 which extends between the ends of theframe 14. The beams 15 and 19 are supported in and maintained spaced inthe frame 14 by means of clamping bolts 27 which extend transverselythrough the frame 14 and through all of the beams theerin. The bolts 27are provided with suitable spacing sleeves 28 to maintain the properspacing of the beams.

nited States Patent O A hinge shaft 18 extends along the beam 19 andhingedly supports a plurality of bent obstacle plates 20. Each of theobstacle plates is provided with suitable hinge ears 25 which arerotatably mounted on the hinge shaft 18, and suitable spacing members 26are mounted on the shaft 18 between the obstacle plates to maintain themin uniform spaced relation.

Each obstacle plate 20 consists of an upper portion positioned above thehinge shaft 18 and a lower portion extending below the hinge shaft 18.The two portions are positioned at an angle of substantially from eachother so that when the lower portion is vertical, the upper portion willextend at an angle of approximately 45 from the roadway surface. A chainlink 29 is passed through a perforation 30 adjacent each side of eachobstacle plate. The chain links of adjacent obstacle plates areinterconnected by means of a connecting link 31.

The upper extremities of the plates 20 are preferably notched orserrated to provide a plurality of points 21. The lower extremities areperforated, as shown at 22, to receive the extremities of tensionsprings 23, there being one spring for each of the plates. The springs23 extend to any suitable fixed mounting on the frame 14. Asillustrated, they are all secured to an elongated spring plate 24secured to the side of the frame 14 by means of the bolts 27.

The device is installed in the trench 10 with the frame 14 and the beams15 and 19 flush with the road surface 11, and with the upper portions ofthe obstacle plates directed in the direction it is desired to allowtravel over the device.

It can be readily seen that normally the upper portions of all theobstacle plates will project upwardly and rearwardly, as shown in Figs.l and 2. When the wheels 12 of a car traveling in the prohibiteddirection reach these plates, the points 21 will contact the tires andprevent further forward movement, as shown in Fig. 2. If the car ismoving slowly, no damage will be done, but if a rapidly moving carstrikes the upturned points 21, darnage may result to the front tiresthereof.

It will be noted that certain of the plates 20 adjacent the mid-portionofthe device extend further upwardly than the remainder of the plates,as indicated by the plates 32. These elongated plates will engage thesteering links and other sub-structure of the car to insure a positivestop.

Should a car approach from the authorized direction, as shown in Fig. 3,the wheels 13 will simply ride upon the plates 20 and depress them,against the action of the springs 23, onto the beams 15 withoutinterference with the movement of the car. The chain links 29 and 31 actto pull the plates adjacent to those depressed by the vehicle wheelsdownwardly so that they will not be struck by depending portions of thetraveling vehicle. The chain links also prevent wheels from enteringbetween the plates 20.

Since all of the plates operate independently, except for the looselyconnected chain links providing suicient lost motion in the connectionbetween the piates so that it is impossible for a person to force themdown sutiiciently by standing on the outside links, to allow a car topass thereover in the wrong direction.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described andillustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may bevaried within the scope of the appended claims, without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired securedby Letters Patent is:

1. A one-way barrier for a roadway comprising a support adapted toextend across a roadway, a plurality of barrier plates mounted atintermediate points thereof on said support on substantially coaxialpivots on said support, spring means interconnecting said plates andsaid support to rnovably maintain said plates in.y upright positions,and 10st-motion means interconnecting intermedi ate portions of saidbarrier plates.

2. A one-way travel barrier as dened inclaim 1, wherein said plates areformed with arms extending' downwardly from their pivots, said springmeans being connected to said arms to hold them normally against a stop,the angle between' saidV plates and said armsy being sufcient toposition said plates.` upright in road blocking` position when said armsabut said stop'.

3. A one-way travel barrier as denedl in claim 2, wherein the anglebetween said arms and the body of said plates is substantially 135 4. Aone-way travel barrier as dened in claim 1, wherein s-aid lost motionconnections between said plates 4A are formed bylinked chain portionsloosely connecting adjacent plates.

5. A one-way travel barrier as defined in claim 1 wherein a number ofsaid plates are of greater length, and are disposed adjacent themid-length of said support, the Vlength of said plates being sucient toengage the steering rod of a car approachingthe plates in the barreddirection. Y

